What About Manifestations?

One of the frequent criticisms of renewal
movements such as the Charismatic Renewal
of the 70’s or the Toronto revival of
the 90’s is the appearance of strange and unusual
manifestations such as jerking, laughing,
tongues, being slain in the Spirit, and
so on. What about these things? And what
does the Bible say about them? I believe we
need to start with the proposition that God
is a being, a Person—not merely a concept
or a doctrine. As an example, I am a being.
If I were to fall on you from overhead would
there be an effect on you? God is not the
“Great Watchmaker in the Sky” but truly is
a person who is desirous to interact with his
people. After all, his one and only Son, Jesus
Christ, came in the flesh for us. Too often
we fall prey to a form of religious atheism
that proclaims loudly a belief in God but
sceptically rejects any supernatural occurrence.

But are these things Biblical? In the book
of Acts we read of the coming of the Holy
Spirit on the day of Pentecost. “When the
day of Pentecost came, they were all together
in one place. Suddenly a sound like
the blowing of a violent wind came from
heaven and filled the whole house where
they were sitting. They saw what seemed to
be tongues of fire that separated and came
to rest on each of them. All of them were
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled
them.” Sometimes we may picture this as a
calm experience. But look at the response
of the crowd. “Some, however, made fun of
them and said, ‘They have had too much
wine.’” As one who lives in an officially
bilingual country, I do not take some speaking
French or an aboriginal language as being
drunk. Clearly something more was
going on to lead some to this conclusion.
Was it laughter? Joy? Boisterousness? Staggering?
We don’t know. And think more
deeply about the possible significance of
what is being demonstrated in this evident
behavior. Could not laughter signify the imparting
of joy to the believer? And the experience
of being slain in the Spirit is a very
common experience in Scripture happening
to believer and non-believer alike when they
are in the presence of God (see Revelation
1:17, I Samuel 19, Ezekiel 1 & 3, Daniel
10:8, John 18:6). Many other sorts of manifestations
that may seem to be strange to
the onlooker may in fact have deep significance
to the person experiencing them. Look
for instance at the interaction between
Hannah and Eli in I Samuel 1. “Hannah was
praying in her heart, and her lips were moving
but her voice was not heard. Eli thought
she was drunk and said to her, ‘How long
will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of
your wine.’”

But are these things to be the point? There
is a grave danger of pride connected with
these sorts of things. But is it any greater
than pride exhibited by some concerning
their morality, their ecclesiastical polity, or
doctrine? Is a person who experiences such
things a “better Christian” than one who
hasn’t? As one who has experienced these
sorts of things, my conclusion is that such a
one is not a “better” Christian and may in
fact be just the opposite.

Some will say that such things ceased with
the Age of the Apostles. Yet we as Lutherans
believe that the Apostolic Age continues until
the return of Christ. The end times will not
begin at the literal end of time but rather have
begun with the ascension of Christ into
heaven and extend until the second coming.
Dispensationalism is usually rightfully
rejected by Lutherans and yet is often
selectively practiced. Since God is by
definition supernatural it follows that at least
occasionally supernatural things will occur
by the hand of God.

But once more such things are NOT the
foundation of the faith. They will not add
revelation about God and his plan of
salvation that are not already contained in
Scripture. These things are not the
foundation of faith but are rather an
expression of faith. These things are like the
color of paint in a house rather than its
foundation. Yes, they are experiential in
nature.

So we do not look to these things as a proof
of God’s existence or as a basis of our faith .
Rather we see them as an additional way in
which to enjoy the presence of God and his
interaction with us.

James Bredeson
7 Heritage Point
Stoney Plain, AB, Canada

T7Z 2G1